Legendary MMA fighter and UFC hall-of-famer Mark Coleman is in critical condition at a hospital in Ohio after being caught in a house fire at his parents home in Fremont.
The 59-year-old is believed to have been woken up during the night by his dog ‘Hammer’, at which point he realized the house was on fire.
Coleman then heroically helped both his mother and father escape the building safely, before returning back inside to save his dog.
Unfortunately it’s been reported that his dog didn’t survive the blaze, while Coleman was overcome by smoke inhalation and had to be rescued and rushed to hospital, where he is currently in critical condition.
“As many know, our dad was involved in a house fire early this morning along with his parents and beloved dog, Hammer,” Coleman’s daughter Morgan wrote on Instagram.
“He managed to carry both of his parents out of the house but despite his best efforts was not able to save Hammer. He was life-flighted to the hospital where he is currently battling for his life after this heroic act.
“Our father has always been our hero and means the world to us. He is and always will be a fighter. The strongest and bravest man I know. Please continue to pray for him and our family during this extremely difficult time. We will miss our sweet Hammer so deeply.”
Known as ‘The Godfather of ground-and-pound’, Coleman was the UFC’s first ever heavyweight champion as well as winning both the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournaments, while he then went on to win PRIDE’s open-weight grand-prix in 2000.
